UT Athletics Tutoring Moves to Provost’s Office

KNOXVILLE — The Provost’s Office will assume authority for tutoring programs in the University of Tennessee’s athletics departments, UT President J. Wade Gilley said Wednesday.

A three-member governing committee of faculty, chaired by Dr. Anne Mayhew, UT’s new NCAA faculty athletic representative, will develop operating policies for academic support programs and report to the provost by Sept. 1.

Mayhew, professor of history and interim vice provost, succeeds Dr. Carl Asp as the NCAA faculty representative. Dr. Malcolm McInnis, UT’s director of NCAA compliance and a professor of education, was named by Gilley to the committee.

The third member will be appointed soon, Gilley said. All appointments are for four years.

“We have taken the recommendations from the Faculty Senate very seriously,” Gilley said. “Provost (Clifton) Woods and I are pleased with the Faculty Senate’s work and by the positive response from the athletic directors, who were very supportive of this move.”

Doug Dickey, men’s athletics director, and Joan Cronan, director of women’s athletics, said they endorse the faculty’s and administration’s recommendations.

“We look forward to working with Dr. Gilley and Dr. Woods to put in place those actions necessary to strengthen the academic support system,” Dickey and Cronan said.

The Senate’s athletic committee reported in May its findings of a study on tutoring of, grade changes for, and learning disability programs for student-athletes.

Among the report’s 21 recommendations was the need for more academic oversight of the athletics departments’ tutoring programs.

Policy and operating guidelines from the new three-member committee will be approved by Gilley and Woods before they are official, the UT president said.

Athletes’ student support programs are expected to move to the new Thornton Student Life Center by Oct. 15.